That September Day

by Sgt.Pepperony

It was one September morning that changed the course of the world. On 11th September 2001, Tony Stark woke to chaos and phone calls. On 11th September 2001, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff witness the events on a television screen. On 30th April 2012, Steve Rogers realises how much the world has changed since 1945. T for mentions of 9/11, mild language, and portrayals of PTSD. *Complete*

3. New York, 30th April 2012

New York, 30th April 2012

It had barely been a week for Steve since he had awoken from the ice, not only in a new decade, but an entirely new century. New York had changed so much. In Downtown Manhattan, he looked at the latest skyscraper being built. They had described this building as the tallest in the US. It was amusing to him somewhat. He remembered when they were constructing the Empire State Building back in the 1920s and they were buzzing about that was going to be the top of the world.

Yet there was something that seemed very different in Manhattan. As well as the new skyscraper, there was a museum being built. Not just a regular museum, but a memorial museum, and it was near a memorial of two large pools with names engraved in the metal surrounding the water. The sign around the safety bars read '9/11 Memorial Museum'.

He had only been awake for a few days and had barely been filled on what had happened in the last seventy years. He was not sure what 9/11 was, or what had happened on 11th September to make the date so significant.

"I was never sure about this," a man beside him said. "Seems strange how the worst day in American history is being turned into a tourist exhibit."

"What happened?" Steve asked.

The man looked at Steve like he could not believe the words that had been released from his mouth. "You been under a rock or something?"

"You could say that."

"It was a normal day. 11th September 2001. Terrorists hijack four planes. Two crash into the World Trade Centre. One the Pentagon. The last a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly three thousand people died. Innocent people. Good people. Just going about their daily business or going on a trip. The people who did it claimed they did it for Allah, but speaking as a Muslim myself, it was never for Allah. It was a distorted view. A twisted view filled with hatred."

Steve was lost for words. He had thought Pearl Harbour had been the disaster that could never be topped. How he was wrong.

"Did anyone you know die?"

"I worked in the North Tower on the 101st floor. I was running late for work. If I was there just ten minutes earlier, I would not be here. My friends and colleagues were trapped."

"I'm sorry."

"I have spent the last ten years filled with mourning and guilt. Sometimes you have to take time to be grateful you are alive."

"How do you do it?"

"I have a daughter. I have to teach her love and respect for all, regardless of their religion. I have to teach her to be a good person."

Steve nodded. "I've lost people. Friends and colleagues. Not in the same circumstances, but I know how you feel. I know what it is like to have the world as you know it ripped from you."

The End